By JAMES ANDERSEN
News Sports Writer
When the Alpena Thunder take the ice again this season, it will have a new coach behind the bench.
Todd McIlrath has left his position as head coach of the Alpena Thunder to make another attempt at playing professional hockey.
Thunder General Manager Joseph Kolodziej said that the team's new coach will be announced Monday.
"I think that Todd's departure was a timely departure for him and for the team. I'm looking forward to working with our new coach and moving forward with our season," Kolodziej said Friday.
McIlrath, a former U.S. Development product, played collegiate hockey at Bowling Green and had a short stint at the minor league level. He played in 16 games for the Battle Creek Revolution of the All American Hockey League, tallying 20 goals and 17 assists. He also appeared in one game for the Idaho Steelheads of the East Coast Hockey League.
"I left to play hockey again," McIlrath said. "Given the situation the team was in, it was a choice of whether to play hockey again or retire."
The 24-year-old from Northville was hired as the inaugural head coach of the Thunder on May 12, and was hailed by Kolodziej as the right man for the job.
"He was a guy who fit the criteria I was looking for," Kolodziej said on May 12. "He's a little younger, he's played at a high level that most of our players are aspiring to and he has a passion for the game."
McIlrath said at his introductory press conference that he didn't think his age would be a problem as he coached kids that were only a few years younger than him, but said Friday that people still worried about whether he was up to the task.
"As a younger coach, people were worried about how I was gonna manage kids close to my age," he said.
McIlrath will spend some time recovering from an injury and then looking to pick up his playing career again. He said Friday that right now he is juggling some minor league contract offers.
The Thunder has only played one game this season as Kolodziej works to get the team's schedule finalized. It played the Central Michigan club team on Saturday, losing 8-3.